Our four podcast listeners know this well: every time the VW DSG trans is mentioned, Farago has to take a break to go freshen his undies. Needless to say, the Cynical One is suffering from a range of biological functions on an Akira-esque scale as he reads this post, and we apologize in advance to Lola if she accidentally witnesses her father in such fits of automotive bliss.

Dear Lola. We sincerely hope this does not hinder your development in any significant way. Meanwhile, as we've previously reported, VW is phasing out torque-converter-equipped automatic models in favor of DSG versions, which will reportedly cut costs, as well as enhancing driver bliss and fuel economy. They're still figuring out how to package it behind longitudinally-oriented mills, but considering the only model featuring that configuration in the US market is the Touareg, who cares?

Meanwhile, the brainiacs in Wolfsburg have decided to bring production of the trans in-house, as a sop to unions, claiming that they can build it just as cheaply as an outside supplier would be able to. What's more, they also claim that the cost to the consumer over a conventional automatic will be halved. Besides the Audi R10, this is one of the few win-win-win stories we've heard all year.